Abcam said today it will acquire AxioMx for up to $45 million, in a deal intended to enable the buyer to expand its offerings to customers working in infectious disease, toxins, nucleotides, and membrane bound proteins.

Abcam said AxioMx’s platform for producing recombinant monoclonal antibodies will complement its existing antibody and immunoassay capabilities by targeting attractive and growing markets that have proven challenging to address through traditional in vivo antibody production methods.

AxioMx now provides its technology as a service to research institutes as well as diagnostics and therapeutics organizations. Following completion of the acquisition, Abcam said, AxioMx will re-focus its activities to develop highly validated recombinant antibodies for inclusion in the Abcam catalogue, combining the technology with Abcam’s digital platform, brand and customer service capabilities.

In addition to opening new markets, AxioMx’s antibody and binder development capabilities enable the production of antibodies within weeks, significantly faster than in vivo methods, Abcam said.

“The acquisition of AxioMx is in line with our strategy of acquiring businesses which enable Abcam to increase the supply of high quality products generated from our own innovation, and allows us to respond more quickly to our customers’ needs,” Abcam CEO Alan Hirzel said in a statement. “This acquisition enhances our ability to serve emerging life science needs and supports our mission to be the most influential and recommended company for life scientists worldwide.”

Abcam has agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of AxioMx cash-free and debt-free for $20 million upfront, plus up to $25 million over five years tied to achieving commercial and technical milestones.

Abcam said it will use a combination of existing cash and newly-issued shares to fund its acquisition of AxioMx, which is expected to close by the end of this month.

Founded in 2012, AxioMx has 28 employees and is based in Branford, CT. AxioMx President and CEO Christopher McLeod, and CSO Michael Weiner, Ph.D., founded the company with the vision of revolutionizing proteomics by developing technologies to create recombinant antibodies in days.

“We have made great progress towards this goal, while also developing methods enabling us to generate antibodies against targets that can’t be addressed with traditional in vivo technologies,” McLeod stated. “We are excited that our team will be able to utilize their expertise in support of Abcam’s mission and to serve its extensive global customer base.”

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